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i've spent most of my life handling birds and other wildlife. my degree is in ecology and evolutionary biology and i ’ve sidestepped into the field of wildlife rehabilitation, rescuing birds injured due to human activities. amidst this work my utmost concern, is their future. their future is bleak. the loss of habitat is so insurmountable that the extinction and extirpation of many species is unavoidable. i've worked for wildlife advocacy groups, written letters, donated money, done research and i see little improvement for my efforts. art is an outlet. not to express what i hope for: beautiful birds flying over clean lakes and prairies… nor is it to express what i dread: the predictable devastation to our planet's biodiversity with humanity in peril of one small microbe that could wipe out the few species left, including ourselves … but to depict, in an idealized manner, my experiences with the birds i've healed or tried to heal. to me, seeing a bird, perplexed as to where she is and what is happening to her as she convalesces in a human dwelling is more poignant and dire, than imagining the destruction of the most beautiful of any of our remaining wild areas. |
